


No Intervention = No Saviour

by Blue_Elephants



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Crime Scenes, Gen, Hurt Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Murder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2019-06-06 15:43:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15198008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Elephants/pseuds/Blue_Elephants
Summary: Elijah Kamski is found brutally murdered. There is no evidence to prove that this is a case involving androids, nevertheless, there is only one duo who could be considered for finding the culprit.rA9 save Hank before he has to deal with Connor at a crime scene again.





	1. Prologue

 

_Elijah Kamski was found murdered in his house earlier this evening. It was reported to the police at 4 pm by multiple androids who had stayed at his house despite the new laws established. The Detroit Police Department is at the scene now. Nothing is known yet but there will be live updates so stay tuned._

 

__________

 

A shadow sat in the corner of a room. The only light came from the holo-screen mounted on the wall, projecting the things that had just been found, things that had only just been _noticed_. The shadow’s head was covered so not even the dull blue light could illuminate any distinctive features beneath the fabric.

 

 

The shadow sat...

It watched...

 

 

And then it smiled.

 

 

 


	2. A Dinner Date With A Corpse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These awesome tracks are what I listened to on high rotation while writing this chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnwMpHIhqxY

  Time

  PM  **4:32** :47

 

 

“Lieutenant. There has been murder and Captain Fowler informed me that he wants us there now,” Connor reported. There was a grunt in reply from the comatose detective on the couch. 

 

“Lieutenant.”

 

“Mmgmrgm.”

 

“I am equipped with the knowledge of over 3000 languages, Lieutenant, but that is not one of them. I would ask you to repeat what you have said so that I may better understand what you are trying to say.”

 

His head moved a little so that his mouth wasn’t facing down anymore. “Go fuck yourself.”

 

“I am sorry, but I have not been equipped with the ability to do that.” Connor stood there for a moment longer, assessing how best to wake up the Lieutenant and arrive at the crime scene before Captain Fowler called again.

 

     [Force]

     [Tempt] 

     [Encourage]

 

“We can go to  _ Chicken Feed _ on the way.” Connor reasoned. “I will pay for whatever you would like and I will not tell you how many calories are in it.” 

 

This caught Hank’s attention through the cloud of the fog that had taken residence between his ears. He sighed and rolled over so that he was facing up, but he didn’t give Connor that satisfaction of an answer yet, even though he knew that the plastic asshole had already won. He sighed again and wondered why he had let him stay after that revolution stuff had blown over. 

 

His thoughts were annoying interrupted by Connor’s clear voice. “If we do not arrive at the crime scene soon, Captain Fowler will call again and it won’t be me who he will call,” Hank grunted and threw his legs off of the couch and stood up before moving towards his bedroom to get dressed.

 

“Who died?” He called out to Connor who was trailing behind him like Sumo did when he wanted something to eat.

 

“Elijah Kamski.”

 

“Kamski? The man bun guy? The one that wanted you to shoot another android in the head? That Kamski?”

 

“Yes. I received a message when it was reported to the DPD at 16:00 exactly and now…”

 

“And now Fowler has us on the job. Yeah, yeah, I got it.” As he says this, he comes out of the bedroom, slinging his jacket over one arm then the other. “See you Sumo. Lets go you lump of plastic, I’m hungry.”

 

__________

  
  


  Time

  PM  **5:24** :35

 

 

The trip to the outskirts of the city where Kamski’s house lay from  _ Chicken Feed _ took just over 40 minutes in the Detroit traffic. The aftermath of the revolution had left several roads blocked which led to the already busy traffic is heavier on the roads that were still operational.

 

Hank had long since finished his burger in less half the time it would have usually taken even though he was the one driving. Connor sat in the passenger seat watching the plants beside the road fly past as they drove by and flicking his coin between his fingers.

 

As they neared the house, they began to see the usual activity that takes place around a crime scene. The rails that lead to the front door had been cordoned off with holo police tape, 3 police cars were parked in front, police in forensics uniforms walked in and out of the building carrying arms of evidence that would soon be shipped off to a lab.

 

Hank stopped the car behind the line of police cars, opened the door and got out, and Connor smoothly, a few seconds later, did the same. The both of them walked through the yellow holo line and into the house where more people were taking photos of things or looking through security camera footage on a tablet. A reasonably young looking officer pointed in the direction of the room the body was in after Hank asked him. 

 

The sleek grey walls followed them the whole way, making Hank feel as though he never moved a single step. A few paces later they made it to the pool room, the room where they both met Kamski for the first time. Hank looked around and noticed that the pool’s once red water looked darker than it had been when they came last time.  _ Probably because of the blood _ , he thought,  _ there is certainly enough of it here _ . The amount of blood in the room didn’t look like it could have belonged to a single man. It covered the floor, leaving almost none of the original black floor within a few meters of the body. The body itself looked like something from the old horror films Hank loved to watch. The remnants of the shirt were dark with blood, the chest nothing more than a few strips of flesh where in between bone could be seen. The once perfectly styled hair was knotted and large clumps were missing, leaving more of the scalp bare than there had been originally. His eyes were open and his mouth was pulled into an eternal, ghastly scream.

 

Connor moved forward past Hank, looked down at the body - being careful not to step on anything of importance to the investigation - and scanned.

 

100%

PROCESSING DATA

 

**DECEASED**

     KAMSKI, ELIJAH

     Height: 6’ 0” - Weight: 165 lbs

     Estimated time of death: Unknown

  
  


100%

PROCESSING DATA

 

**KNIFE**

     Right lung perforated

     Left lung perforated

     Stomach perforated

  
  


RECONSTRUCT INCOMPLETE

 

_ Crouched down over the body of Kamski was the assailant, knife in hand, making long, precise cuts into his body. He was alive, he struggled making two of the liens not as straight as the other. He gradually stopped moving as he lost more blood. Assailant stood up and walked away. _

 

Connor looked around and found the discarded knife near the entrance to the room.

 

**ASSAILANT** LEFT THROUGH  **FRONT DOOR**

 

Connor walked back to the body slowly, looking for more clues. He stopped and looked around once he had made his way back to the body and found what he was looking for. On either side of the large window at the back of the room, in the corners that met the ceiling, sat two small security cameras. He stared at them, willing the past to be visible to him.

 

_ A man walks in with a squirming Kamski’s hair in a fist, dragging him behind him. The man walks further into the room and stops, the faces the window. He smiles and yanks Kamski up until they are both facing the same direction. The man leans close to Kamski, smiles again, the drops Kamski on the floor. The man watches as Kamski tries to get up before kicking his legs from underneath him. The man crouches down, knife in his right hand and Kamski’s shirt in the left. He begins making the long cuts into the flesh writhing beneath him, his mouth still moving. Just before Kamski stops moving, the man gets up, drops the knife, and leaves the same way he came in. _

 

RECONSTRUCT COMPLETE

 

Connor walks back to where Hank is. As he walks over Hank looks up at him. “Find anything?” he asks.

 

“The assailant was male, name: Fred Marsh, aged 38. He was let in through the front door which means that he was known by Kamski. Marsh grabbed Kamski and dragged him in here where he cut into his chest.”

 

“So you’re telling me that they knew each other? And then he gets this done to him,” Hank waves his hand over the body before rubbing his forehead. “Sounds like he needed some better friends.”

 

“I have searched the databases and I have found where Fred Marsh lives. Shall we go there now?”

 

“Sure. Just want you to know Connor, this is exactly how I wanted my Sunday to go.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First actual chapter in the metaphorical bag... boom.
> 
> While writing this I had the sudden urge to make this fic into a choose your own adventure story - kind of like the game the fic is based on - would anyone be interested?
> 
> Any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D
> 
>  
> 
> And remember, not everything is what it first appears to be.


	3. Another Day, Another Drunk

Time

PM  **6:04** :53

  
  


“Where are we going, Connor? You just said drive to the center of the city. I need a bit more information than that.”

 

“We are going to Fred Marsh’s apartment.”

 

“Yes, I had established that a while ago. But  _ where _ are we going? I’m the one that is driving so I actually need to know where I am going.”

 

“I am perfectly capable of driving, Lieutenant, would you like me to take over?” Connor said looking over to Hank. The answer came before Connor could take another synthesized breath. “No.”

 

Hank continued driving straight on and the buildings gradually turned from single-family homes to apartment blocks that stretched as far as the human eye could see. There was evidence of the revolution here, not like the outskirts of the city where protests hadn’t occurred as often. Despite the cleaning crews that had done their rounds day after day, graffiti still lined some of the walls and windows of shops and some roadside benches were still missing.

 

“Stop here Lieutenant.” Hank pulled over to the side of the road next to a building not much different from its neighbors. The bricks were of the high rise was a dark brown, contrasting with the sky that was full of white, bright clouds. Half of the windows facing the street were bordered up which was not uncommon in the aftermath of the revolution. Everyone seemed to have a desire for more privacy.

 

“I little more warning next time would be great,” Hank huffed as he got out of the car. He slammed the door behind him and got up onto the footpath. Connor, ever the diplomat responded in turn after he too got out of the car.

 

“Of course Lieutenant.”

 

“And stop calling me ‘Lieutenant’! I have a name, use it.”

 

“Of course Hank.”

 

“Asshole,” Hank grumbled and walked towards the buildings. “This the one?” Connor looked at the building, his LED spinning and glowing yellow as he did so.

 

**OLYMPUS APARTMENTS**

     Floors: 12

     Apartments: 48

     Residents: 124

 

**RESIDENTS**   


Samuel Adams      Shannon Adams      Juniper Adams      Junior Ayala      Oliver Baker      Sky Baker      Jude Barker      Aidan Barlow      Abbie Barnes      Stephan Barnes      Chelsea Bradley      Matthew Brown      Beckett Burris      Benjamin Burton      Phillip Castillo      Micheal Castillo      Brynn Clarke      Peyton Cox      Alexander Cox      Layla Craft      Danny Davies      Scarlett Davies      Melissa Davies      Beckham Farrell      Carmen Finley      Lacey Fisher      Lexi Fraser      Ewan George      Randy Grant      Cynthia Gray      Christopher Hall      Autumn Hall      Esme Hampton      Hadley Hampton      Madison Harrison      Jaxen Harvey      Rowan Hawkins      Raylee Hawkins      Gunner Hendricks      Mohamed Hendrix      Declan Holland      Jayden Holland      Zoe Holmes      Kaelyn Hopper      Kate Howard      Carol Howard      Edward Hudson      Eliza Hudson      Amari Huff      Ashton Jackson      Ishaan Jennings      Layla Johnston      Zachary Johnston      Hannah Jordan      Melvin Justice      Gabriel Kelly      Kai Kelly      Mohamed Lamb            Nathaniel Landry      Ann Landry      Kamari Larsen      Joshua Lowe      Chloe Lowe      **Tessa Marsh** **Fred Marsh** Liam Marshall      Johnathan Marshall      Michael Martin      Thiago Massey      Kristina Mccarthy      Hannah Mcdonald      Hazel Mcfarland      Aubri Meadows      Vivienne Middleton      Danielle Middleton      Alexandra Miller      Aidan Miller    Nathan Mills      Dennis Montgomery      Paxton Moss      Rene Moss      Phoebe Mullen      Sebastian Nicholson      Dulce O'Donnell      Abdullah Odom      Emmanuel Owen       Lydia Owen      Maisie Owen      Tom Parry      Dominic Pearce      Hassan Peters      Cody Read      Nova Read      Abby Richards      Dangelo Richards      Myah Richards            Alia Robinson      Louie Robinson      Anthony Rogers      Kai Russell      Robin Russell      Gabriel Saunders      Aliya Scott      Lexie Sharpe      Freya Sharpe      Callie Sharpe      Josh Sharpe      Mason Sheppard      Julie Snyder      Lena Spencer      Savannah Stein      Abby Stein      Kayden Sutton      Deandre Thomas      Felix Thomas       Daniel Thomson      Jasmine Thomson      Elaina Vaughan      Destiny Vaughn      Adam Walsh      Hector Warren      Edward Watts      Zacheriah Webb      Sophia Wright   


 

**MARSH, FRED**

Born: 12/03/2001 // Lab Technician

Criminal Record: Public Intoxication

Residence: Olympus Apartments, Floor 4, Apartment 13

 

**MARSH, TESSA**

Born: 06/19/2022 // Sales Assistant

Criminal Record: None

Residence: Olympus Apartments, Floor 4, Apartment 13

 

“Records show that Fred Marsh lives in this building on the fourth floor in apartment number 13. The records also show that he lives with his daughter, Tessa Marsh.”

 

“Great. So we’ve got a potential murderer living up there with his  _ daughter _ . We could either have someone who is extremely traumatized up there, or someone who has been in the company of a now murderer and probably has a taste for killing as well. Still not liking the way this day is turning out, Connor.” 

 

They both made their way to the wooden door that marked the entrance to the apartment building. Hank walked in first, Connor behind him, and Hank made his way to the emergency staircase at the back of the foyer. Hank, still not used to large amounts of physical exercise, had slowed down considerably by the time that they reached the second floor. At the third floor he was huffing and once he reached the top of the staircase on the fourth floor, he looked like he was about to collapse. Connor, ever the efficient machine, wasn’t at all out of breath, because he had no breath to begin with.

 

Connor left Hank leaning on the wall to investigate the room that the emergency staircase had led to. The room was 8ft by 6ft  with two doors opposite the staircase and the elevator, numbers 14 and 15, a door on the left wall, number 13, and a fourth door on the right wall, number 16. The walls were covered in a sickly yellow floral wallpaper and the brown carpet looked as though it had never been cleaned. The doors to the apartments were all wooden, and two of the four, apartment 14 and 16, had doormats in front of them. Apartment 14 had a doormat with bright red ladybugs in the corners. Apartment 16 had a dirty looking brown doormat the blended into the carpet making it seem as though there wasn’t one there to begin with.

 

Once Hank had caught his breath, he lumbered over to where Connor was standing in the middle of the room. Connor looked around the room again.

  
  


**KNOCK** ON DOOR

**QUESTION**  NEIGHBOURS                       

**BREAK** DOWN DOOR

 

Connor strode towards the door of apartment 14 and briskly knocked on the door twice. Hank raised his eyebrows at Connor but looked back to the door when it opened a few seconds later. An old lady stood at the door, a cat at her heels, and she looked towards the two men, a questioning look on her face.

 

“Hello, my name is Connor and this is Lieutenant Anderson we are from the Detroit Police Department, we would like to ask you some questions about your neighbor Fred Marsh.”

 

“That lousy piece of trash. What has he done this time?” Her words were slow but surprisingly harsh. Her face was now marred with a frown, her lips pulled taught so that they made a straight line, her eyes, still questioning, but also with a sort of contempt.

 

“Did you know him?” Hank asked.

 

“He lives next door, I would be hard pressed to not know him.” She sneered before leaning down and picking up the cat the had been meowing at her.

 

“What is he like?”

 

“He spends his days drinking at home and his nights drinking at the bar. If he isn’t drunk then he’s high. His daughter, Tess, works so that they have enough money to pay rent and to pay for the amount of alcohol and red ice he consumes daily. There’s been so much yelling and screaming going on in there, that I’m surprised they haven’t been kicked out yet, much less someone call the cops.”

 

“Why didn’t you call the police then, if you knew what was happening in there.”

 

“Tess didn’t want me to. She said that she could deal with it. But she did say that if I ever thought it was too bad, to come and check whenever I want. She gave me a spare key as a promise.” 

 

“A key?” Connor questioned.

 

She turned her attention back to Connor. “A bit old fashioned, I agree. Why not embrace the technology of the era? I also asked her why they didn’t use a retina scanner like I have or one of those newer DNA sampling ones. She said her father didn’t want someone to hack into the device. The only way someone would be able to get in is with a key, brute force, or the ability to pick a lock.” She looked at Hank, then Connor again. “I’m sure she would able to answer more of your questions than I would, and her father probably wouldn’t be home right now because it is the evening and therefore probably at a bar downtown. Here,” she said before moving out of sight for a second, “this is the key. If she doesn’t open up straight away use it, hopefully, she’ll thank me later.” She passed the key to Connor who took it and closed his fingers around it.

 

“Thank you for your help, Mrs. Snyder,” Connor said. They moved towards apartment 13 and heard the door of apartment 14 close with a quiet click behind them, the sound of the electromagnetic lock engaging. 

 

Hank reached forward and knocked hard twice on the center of the door. “Anybody home? Detroit Police!” They stood there for a minute, but there were no sounds coming from inside that one would expect when someone was about to open the front door. Hank looked behind him and shrugged at Connor then held his hand out. Connor placed the key on the open palm and stood silently as Hank opened the door.

 

The door didn’t creak as it opened, it was smooth and the hinges were obviously well oiled. Hank kept a hand on his hip, where his gun was, as he walked into the apartment then he stopped when he was a few feet in, and looked around for a moment. He looked at the walls of the entrance hall: bare. The floor: spotless. What little of the living room he could see from where he was standing looked like it belonged on the cover of a magazine: clean couches, polished wooden floor, mounted holo-screen. He walked further in until he stood in the living room where he could see the kitchen and the hallway to the bedroom and the bathroom. Connor seemed to appear next to him, jarring Hank out of his stupor. Then Connor knelt down and touched the floor then brought his fingers to his lips. 

 

**CLOROX DISINFECTANT**

     Water 

     Sodium hypochlorite

     Sodium chloride 

     Sodium carbonate 

     Sodium chlorate 

     Sodium hydroxide 

     Sodium polyacrylate.

 

Connor looked around again moving from the living room to the kitchen and back again, sampling the floor. Hank looked on with disgust, his nose curling at the thought of doing something like that.

 

“A common disinfectant has been used on the entire floor,” Connor informed Hank after he had tasted the floor a dozen times.

 

Hank took a breath in. Definitely disinfectant, he could smell it. It was like the stuff they use in hospitals. That smell would be burned in his brain for the rest of his life. “Who uses bleach on an entire floor?” Hank wondered aloud. “Nobody I know that’s for sure.”

 

“Android models WG100 and WG700 frequently used bleach to clean floors.”

 

“But why would you use bleach in your house? More specifically what were they trying to clean up?”

 

“Bit slow on the uptake is he?” A female voice came from behind them. Connor and Hank whirled around to face the young woman leaning against one of the walls at the end of the hallway. She had a small smile on her face, the corners of her eyes crinkling in amusement. Short red hair, parted in the center framed her face. A long, thin, grey jacket covered her arms and her torso, the tops of her knees down to her sneaker-clad feat covered in a shiny leather looking pant.

 

“Tessa Marsh,” Connor began, to which she raised an eyebrow to, “My name is Connor and this is Lieutenant Anderson, were from the Detroit Police Department and we would like to ask you some questions about your father.”

 

She looked at Hank who was now beside Connor again and jerked her head towards Connor. “Is he always this uptight?”

 

“You have no idea.” Connor looked between the two of them before tilting his head slightly. “Can we ask you some questions?”

 

“Sure thing. But only if you tell me how you got in here.”

 

“Mrs. Julie Snyder from apartment 14 gave us your spare key to use if you didn’t answer the door. May I ask where you were?”

 

“I  _ was _ going to go grocery shopping, but I forgot my wallet so I’ll have to go back later. What do you want to know?”

 

“We’ll have to take you to the station to get an official statement for the records, so we’ll ask when we get there,” Connor stated.

 

“Is that legal,” she said, not moving from her spot against the wall. “I mean, I’m  _ legally _ a minor, so…”

 

“Well, it’s legal for us to take you because we are from the DPD, but I wouldn’t jump into the car of any random stranger that takes the spare key to get into your apartment,” Hank said.

 

“Fair point,” she conceded. “Lead on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End notes. Don't you just love them? They are the heart and soul of the author who writes the fanfiction. Not really, but that sounded rather poetic don't you think?
> 
> Any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D


	4. An Introduction To Hell On Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW this is just a filler chapter so it's a tad shorter than the previous chapter, I promise that the real stuff happens soon. ARGH I'M SO EXCITED!!! #hopefully-no-spoilers #how-do-you-use-hashtags

Time

PM  **6:23** :29

 

Hank walked past her first and made his way to the doorway, Connor behind him. As Hank passed through the doorway, he heard her start to walk behind them. They all made their way down the building, this time using the elevator, which Hank was eternally grateful for.

 

Once they had left the building, Hank and Connor walked towards the car that was parked out the front, the blue lights emanating from the windows of the buildings reflecting off of the metal in the early night.

 

“Ah, so yours is the rust bucket I walked past earlier. Huh. I would have thought you had a police car…” Tessa commented from behind them as Hank unlocked the car. “Oh, before we go anywhere, can I have my key back,” she held out her hand expectantly. Hank pulled it from his pocket, dropped it into her hand and opened the driver’s side door, pulled the seat forward and gestured for her to get in. Hank then put the seat back in place then sat down at the wheel as Connor got into the passenger seat.

 

__________

 

Time

PM  **6:39** :41

 

The drive wasn’t long but by the time they got to the station, the sun had fully set, leaving the light from advertisements and open shops to illuminate the streets. Hank parked in his usual spot, got out of the car and moved the seat forward again so that she could get out.

 

“This shouldn’t take too long,” Hank said once she was out. Once Connor got out as well, the three of them, with Hank leading again, moved towards the reflective glass doors that were out the front of the precinct. Holo print on the doors had the Detroit City Police Department logo in the center which disappeared when the doors opened and reappeared when they were completely closed again.

 

Hank walked over to his desk once they were inside and grabbed another seat from Connor’s desk for Tessa. He sat down and told her to do so as well.

 

“Connor here is going to record us for the official record. It won’t be shown anywhere else apart from in this building,” Hank explained.

 

“What do you want to know?” she asked once he finished. Hank looked over to Connor who was standing still next to them, his LED now amber instead of his usual bright blue which meant he was now in recording mode.

 

“Has your father ever displayed violent tendencies? Has he harmed you or anyone else that you know?” Hank began.

 

“What did you think the bleach was for?” She gave another small smile but there no joy in her eyes as she answered him. 

 

“Has your father ever met Elijah Kamski?”

 

“He used to work with him, I think, when Cyberlife first started. They went to school together. I’m not sure if they were friends though, just colleagues.”

 

“Would your father have any reason to harm him?”

 

“If he was drunk or high, maybe? I don’t think he liked that Kamski got most of the credit for androids when it was a joint effort. He drunk all of his problems away though, so I’m not sure he would have been in his right mind anyway,” she paused. Wait. Why are you asking this though, did he do something?”

 

“Have you seen the news recently,” she nodded then Hank continued, “Your father was seen on camera killing Kamski in his house earlier today.” 

 

She inhaled sharply and looked from Hank to Connor then back to Hank again. “What?” Hank turned his chair so that he was facing the screen on his desk and pulled up the security footage that had been uploaded into Kamski’s file. She watched with bated breath as Kamski came into view being dragged by her father. “Oh.”

 

“Is this your father?” Hank asked to which she nodded. “Thank you for your help Tessa, I’m sorry if this has disturbed you in any way.” At a nod from Hank, Connor’s LED when from amber to blue again.

 

“I have called a taxi to take you home,” Connor announced.

 

“You take her outside, Connor, I have to talk to Fowler before we leave,” Hank said and then walked over to his office. 

 

Once he had gone up the stairs, Connor turned to Tessa. “The taxi has arrived.” She nodded and started walking back the way they came.

 

The vehicle was waiting for them when they went outside, the glowing yellow sign on the windscreen identifying it as an autonomous taxi. The door opened when the walked up next to it, the interior every bit as clean as the exterior. Tessa nodded her head in farewell to Connor before getting in. Connor watched silently as the door closed itself and drove off. Once the vehicle was no longer in sight, he walked back inside then waited for the Lieutenant at his desk.

 

“Case closed,” he said to Hank when he came back.

 

“Case closed,” Hank echoed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tis the season for an end note. Fa la la la la la la la la. But not really because it is 6 months 'till Christmas. Fa la la la la la la la la la. *Jazz Hands*
> 
> What do you guys think of a version of this fic - after I have finished it of course - that is a choose your own adventure style fic. You choose what the characters do. You decide who lives or dies... Please express your interest in the form of a comment.
> 
> Once again, any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D


	5. When Predators Become Prey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens! Ha ha ha.
> 
> Enjoy.

     Time:

     AM  **9:46** :25

 

Hank woke to the smell of bacon. This had become a rather common occurrence in his house after he had invited Connor to stay with him after the revolution. Connor cooked him breakfast in the morning, either to make sure that he knew exactly what Hank ate or he wanted Hank to wake up earlier than he would have had he not cooked. Hank thought it was a mix between the both of them. As nice as it was waking up to food, the first time Connor tried to cook the kitchen almost burned down. Since then, Connor had created a mission for himself: Cook breakfast for Hank without burning everything. So far he had been successful.

 

Despite knowing Connor’s intentions, he got up and clumped from his bedroom to the kitchen. Connor turned around when he walked into the room and brought a plate with two fried eggs, two pieces of toast, two pieces of bacon. Hank had learned quickly that Connor had a certain amount of OCD when it came to these types of things. After the plate was given, Connor moved towards the hallway, then into the bathroom.

 

“TV, on,” Hank called to the device before seating himself on the mostly clear couch. Hank ate slowly, mindlessly watching whatever was on at that moment and when he was finished he stood up, moved back towards the kitchen and put his plate in the sink. The bedroom was Hank’s next destination. He would get dressed, then he and Connor could start another dreary day at the precinct finishing the ‘paperwork’ that always needed to be done after finishing a case. Locking his room behind him - he never knew when Connor would just spontaneously decide to go somewhere - he threw on a plain grey business shirt, dirty brown jacket, black slacks, and his usual dark brown leather shoes.

 

“Connor!” Hank called out once he was dressed. “Time to go!” He walked out into the hallway and saw that Connor was already waiting next to the door for him.

 

__________

 

     Time:

     AM  **10:03** :15

 

When Connor and Hank arrived at the station, the both of them had holo-screens on their desk. The point of these holo-screens was to put all of the evidence of one case into a single database. They would upload everything they knew, download it onto the screen, compare the information with each other - even androids like Connor could miss something on occasion - and then the screen would be put with all of the other finished cases. The system worked, so it continued to be used.

 

Connor didn’t spend long doing it because he could see all of the evidence at once in his head without having to look at the computer in front of him. This meant that by the time Connor had finished, Hank was only halfway through. Granted, it was a quick case to solve so there weren’t mountains of data to wade through.

 

Then a call came through.

 

This wasn’t an unusual occurrence. People called the police all of the time, so none of the officers paid any attention to the conversation that would take place. If it concerned them, they would be told. Connor, however, did listen, because a) he had the capability to do so and b) as a result of becoming deviant, he was almost always curious.

 

“Detroit City Police Department, please state your emergency,” the calm voice of the dispatcher said.

 

 _“Oh my god. There… oh god, the smell,”_ the sound of retching,  _“I was walking to work and then it started raining,”_ a hiccup and then a sniff _, “so I turned into an alley because I didn’t have an umbrella and I tripped over something. God, it reeks.”_

 

“Please stay calm and tell me what you saw.”

 

_“A man. A body. God, please come quickly.”_

 

“An officer will be sent to your location immediately. Please stay on the line so that we can track your phone.”

 

Connor looked over to Hank who had been watching him for a few seconds. “What?” Hank said, “What’s got your light all spinny and yellow?”

 

“A body has been found. I have traced the signal to be coming from Griswold Street,” he reported.

 

“If we’re needed, then we’ll go. If not, then there is plenty of paperwork left for me to get through before the end of the day.”

 

“Hank,” Fowler called suddenly, which Hank harrumphed and rolled his eyes at, “a homicide’s been reported. You and your partner are needed.”

 

“Two deaths in two days and we’re needed for both. This has got to be some kind of record,” he muttered.

 

__________

 

     Time:

     AM  **12:34** :28

 

It was just Hank and Connor at the crime scene this time. The guys from forensics would be there later, and because it wasn’t as high profile, the media hadn’t picked up on it yet. The girl who had called was standing to the left of the entrance to the alleyway, still on the phone, although with whom, neither detective knew.

 

Once they’d made their way over, Connor pulled a police-distributed machine to create the holo police tape to mark the entrance to the crime scene. When the glowing yellow line reading ‘POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS’ appeared, he made his way over to Hank who was looking down at a misshapen behind a dumpster in the alleyway. Connor stood next to Hank, then crouched down so that he could scan the body.

 

100%

PROCESSING DATA

  

**DECEASED**

     MARSH, FRED

     Height: 6” 1’ - Weight: 154 lbs

     Estimated time of death: 14:22, Monday 25th July

 

100%

PROCESSING DATA

 

**.357 REVOLVER**

     Cranium fractured

     Frontal lobe perforated

 

100%

PROCESSING DATA

 

**HANDS**

     Thyroid contusion

     Spinal abrasion

 

RECONSTRUCT INCOMPLETE

 

_A body dragged by another into the alleyway behind the dumpster. The assailant who dragged them dropped them and began strangling them. When the body began to lose consciousness, the assailant pulls out a gun and shoots them in the head. Walks away with the gun tucked away._

 

 **ASSAILANT**  IS  **STRONG**

 

RECONSTRUCT COMPLETE

 

“The victim is Fred Marsh. Estimated time of death: 14:22, Monday 25th July, a week ago. The body hadn’t been found prior to today because it was hidden behind the dumpster and the smell of the garbage masked the smell,” Connor said standing up again. “The dumpster had been moved when the garbage was collected and therefore the body moved as well. Had Miss Grace not stumbled upon Mr. Marsh by pure happenstance, it is unlikely that the body would have been found for a while.”

 

“Which means that Kamski was definitely not killed by him. Fuck,” Hank swore. “Have you called it in?”

 

“Yes. Captain Fowler says that forensics will be here soon,” he replied.

 

__________

 

_The DPD’s prime suspect of Elijah Kamski murder has recently been found killed himself. We have been told that the suspect was killed before Kamski so the investigation has been reopened. We urge everyone to be careful until the murder is arrested and we ask you to report any suspicious activity to the DPD._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another end note, whoop whoop. I'm sure you all read these magnificent creations that lie at the bottom of the page. < insert sarcasm here. So cheers to you who are actually reading this.  
> No really, thanks for reading this, I spend an awful lot of time writing the end notes and I'm still not entirely sure why.
> 
> I'm starting to sound like a broken record but: any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D


	6. Knowledge Comes From Revision

Time:

PM  **1:31** :26

 

When the forensics unit had arrived at Griswold street, Hank posed the question: what next? Connor had seen two ways to proceed.

 

[Review evidence]

[Original crime scene]

 

“I suggest we return to Elijah Kamski’s house so that I can examine the crime scene again and find additional evidence,” he had said. Hank had agreed in his usual noncommittal way so they had left and then arrived at Kamski’s house half an hour later. Lunchtime had passed, but neither Connor or Hank wanted to stop for something as unseemly as food at this moment in time.

 

The police tape was still in place from the day before, but the cars that had previously been parked in front of the house were gone, driven to a different crime scene. Connor and Hank made their way up to the house again and the sense of deja vu washed over the latter as he walked through the front door. It was different this time though. The stations that been set up inside the house for quick analysis of evidence had also been removed and put back into storage for when they would be needed again. There was no one inside either. Because everyone thought that the investigation had been closed and the culprit found, everyone had left. There was no point in staying if nothing needed to be found.

 

But now something did need to be found. 

The culprit hadn’t been caught. 

The investigation was reopened.

 

Unfortunately for the duo, anything that could be considered as evidence of Kamski’s death had been removed, leaving the house even barer than it had been before.

 

Connor stood stock still in the entrance and scanned the room, looking for anything that had been missed when the house had been cleared. The two statues that had blue triangles but into their chest still stood next to one another, albeit a few feet apart.

 

100%

CONNECTING

 

**STATUES**

Material: Marble

Sculptor: Giona Lendi

Made in: Zürich, Switzerland

 

The plant that was growing in a small square of dirt was still there but a few of its leaves had fallen off probably due to the number of people that had been coming in and out of the room. A few people must have bumped it.

 

100%

CONNECTING

 

**PLANT**

Maple Tree

Connor walked up to the last item still in the room: the painting on the back wall. The imposing figure of Elijah Kamski looked down on whoever walked into the room, making everyone who walked in feel inadequate, insignificant, defective.

 

100%

CONNECTING

 

**KAMSKI, ELIJAH**

Cyberlife Founder - Resigned 2028

Inventor of Thurium and bio-components

technology

 

Once everything in the room had been analyzed, Connor walked into the adjoining room where Kamski’s body was found. The room had been cleaned when the police left so the blood and the body were gone now, leaving the room to be just as plain as the first time Connor and Hank were there. The pool had also been drained, leaving the red tiles to stand out amongst all of the grey and white as starkly as the blood had. To find any new information, they would need to look where they hadn’t before.

 

REVIEW  **MEMORIES**

LOOK IN DIFFERENT  **ROOM**

SCAN  **OUTSIDE**

 

His LED changed from blue to yellow as Connor reviewed the memories he had of the house. They weren’t long, but Connor watched them all again anyway. After going over each of them meticulously, even though it only took him a few seconds to do so, one particular scene showed promise of new information that could be found.

 

_ One of the RT600s, Chloe, led them through the door to Kamski after she told them that Elijah would see them. She walked behind them then opened a door to the right after Kamski said he would be just a minute. The door closed behind her but she came back with Kamski’s robe after a few seconds.  _

 

The LED went back to blue again when Connor opened his eyes and stopped the memory. He called Hank over and then the both of them walked over to the door he had seen the RT600 go into. The door opened under Connor’s hand which allowed them to see into a room neither had been in before. 

 

A storeroom.

 

A square storeroom filled with navy robes and towels. All of the walls, minus the one with the door, had a rack of robes with a shelf of towels underneath. The room was rather small, but considering that there wasn’t much the room was used for, this fact was of little importance.

 

“Well unless you need a shower and you’re missing a towel, I doubt this is gonna help.” Connor ignored him and scanned each wall respectively.

 

**LEFT WALL**

11 robes

35 towels

 

**BACK WALL**

8 robes

28 towels

 

**RIGHT WALL**

11 robes 

35 towels

 

Connor moved towards the wall opposite the door then parted the robes so that there was four on the left side of the rack and four on the right. Then he parted the towels so that there were two stacks of seven on the left side and two stacks on the right. The result was a gap 3” wide and 8” tall. Connor placed his hand against the wall and allowed the synth-skin to deactivate, then pushed slightly on the wall which gave beneath him. The gap that had been created allowed for the wall to move. Hank, who had been about to walk out of the room raised an eyebrow when Connor looked back at him.

 

Connor pushed on the wall again, moving it back more until it stopped moving. He took his hand off of the wall and activated the skin on his hand again. The indent in the wall moved upwards out of sight creating a doorway into another room that had previously been hidden.

 

**ONLY** ANDROIDS CAN OPEN  **DOOR**

 

Connor walked in first, and when he did, automatic lights turned on illuminating the things inside. He moved forward so that Hank could stand next to him. The both of them looked over the hundreds of ST200s standing in rows in front of them, the sight reminding Hank of a certain company and a certain incident that occurred towards the end of the revolution.

 

Conor walked up to the Chloe who was closest to the entrance of the room and held out his arm. When the Chloe did the same, the synth skin on both of their arms disappeared allowing the interfacing to occur. Connor scanned all of the memories of this Chloe and quickly realized that all of the Chloes had a hive mind, they all knew what other Chloes knew, which was helpful for the investigation.

 

The results of the interfacing were… alarming to say the least.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for leaving it here but the next chapter has content that I wanted to keep separate... I'll leave you to your own conclusions based on that...
> 
> Any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D


	7. The Visions Show What Has Been Lost

     Time:

     PM  **1:49** :23

 

Connor, whilst interfacing with the Chloe noticed that the Chloes saw everything. Anything that had happened around them, they saw. Whatever a single Chloe saw could be seen in the minds of all of the other Chloes because they were all connected. However, this meant that there was a lot of data to wade through.

 

Connor quickly realized that there simply wasn’t enough time to go through all of the data because Chloes had existed since 2021. He tried scanning all of the data for Kamski his voice and his face, but there was still too much data. Next, he tried looking for Fred Marsh because whatever had been posing as him wouldn’t have been let inside the house had Kamski not knew him. This yielded less data so he tried again, this time looking for interactions between Kamski and Marsh.

 

**53 RESULTS**

 

Hank watched all of this with confusion. He had seen androids interfacing with other androids before, it had become a common occurrence after the revolution, but he had never seen it last for more than a few seconds. Connor had been grasping the arm of the Chloe for more than two minutes now, his LED flashing amber the whole time.

 

The 53 results did indeed have Kamski and Marsh in them, but as Connor went through more of them, he saw that there was another recurring figure by the name of Dr. Tatiana Aveline. She was in more than half of the results which lead Connor to believe that she would play a vital role in finding the perpetrator. Connor then included the doctor into his search along with the two men.

 

**31 RESULTS**

 

That was when all of the information took a dark turn. When the three of them were together, they were usually in a room that looked like it was in a permanent state of surgery. There were bloodied scalpels and syringes on a table, white pieces of metal that looked like it should belong on the body of an android, bags of clear liquid being put in and taken out of a cupboard mounted on the wall. Whomever the ‘surgery’ was being done on was not in sight of the Chloe. It was like she was purposely put where she was so that she could not see everything or everyone in the room.

 

The 7th result was when Connor started getting more information from the memories.

 

_      “What if she doesn’t survive?” Dr. Tatiana Aveline asked. _

 

_      “Then we tell her father that she died on the way to the hospital,” Marsh said. _

 

_      They were standing to the left of Chloe’s vision, so she could see some of their movements out of the corner of her ‘eye’ but whenever they shifted slightly, they were out of view. _

 

_      “And if she does survive?” she asked. _

 

_      “Then she won’t be able to do anything that we don’t tell her to,” Kamski said. _

 

_      Then the Chloe heard a groan coming from the right of her vision, to which the three all responded by hurrying over. _

 

_      A new voice came from the direction from the groan. “Why are you doing this?” It rasped painfully. _

 

_      “It will be a scientific breakthrough,” Aveline said, “And you’ll stay alive.” _

 

_      “What if I don’t want to stay alive?” the voice asked. _

 

_      “Bit too late for that,” Marsh barked. _

 

_      A resigned sigh came from the person after his answer, indicating that whoever they were, they probably knew that that was going to be the answer. _

 

The 8th through to the 24th results were much the same, except the voice talked less and less each time, asked fewer questions, complained less. They sounded more and more tired each time though, like whatever was happening to them while Chloe was facing away, wore down at them until they sounded defeated.

 

_      The Chloe’s vision never shifted which meant that the Chloe never shifted. It was probably programmed not to move from that spot. Meant to watch over the room without looking at its inhabitants. Kamski, Marsh, and Aveline walked into view of the Chloe. _

 

_      “I still don’t understand why it’s here,” Marsh grumbled, looking at the Chloe with contempt. _

 

_      “It’s here to record what we say so that if the experiment is a success, then what we did right is on record,” Kamski replied. _

 

_      “What we are doing isn’t strictly legal though,” Aveline countered, “If someone finds out about all of this through it, then what?” _ __   
  


_      “That won’t happen.” _

 

_      “But if it does…” _

 

_      He cut her off. “It won't.” _

 

In the 25th result, Kamski, Marsh, and Aveline had been in the room, but Connor continued watching, curious as to if the person would talk now that they had left the room. He wasn’t disappointed.

 

_      “So,” the quiet voice came, ”what’s stopping you from leaving, hmm, what’s stopping you from looking over here?” _

 

_      The Chloe processed that for a few milliseconds then answered: “I was programmed by Kamski not to leave this room. I was also programmed not to look at you because my memories could be accessed by another android or computer and then they would know that you are here.” _

 

_      “Here and not in a grave, you mean?” the voice snorted, “Yeah, I guess that stops any chances of rescue.” _

 

_      “I don’t understand. Here you are being healed. Why would you need to be rescued?” _

 

_      “Because I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to have my heart pulled out then stuffed back inside me to see whether or not the body could cope with having their heart out for extended periods of time.”  _ This was the most Connor had heard her talk in all of the memories. _ “I don’t want to be a machine.” _

 

In the 26th result, the voice didn’t sound the same.

 

_      “Can you stand?” Aveline asked. _

 

_      “Yes,” the voice replied. A shuffling could be heard. _

 

_      “How do you feel?” _

 

_      “Fine.” _

 

_      “Who am I?” _

 

_      “Dr. Tatiana Aveline, born on 5th March 2004. Graduated from Harvard University in 2024 with a degree in medicine and completed your Ph.D. in 2029.” _

 

_      “What is this?” The sound of glass sliding against metal rang out. _

 

_      “Zirconium. Zirconium has the melting point of 1855 °C which is 3371 °F and a boiling point of 4371 °C which is 7900 °F.” _

 

_      “Perfect,” Kamski said. _

 

_      “Yeah, perfect,” Marsh mimicked. “Now what?” _

 

_ “Now we run more tests. If she’s still working by the end of the tests, then we’ll figure out what to do.” _

 

The rest of the results were more questions, more tests, but not once did Connor see the person behind the voice. But he knew that whoever this person was, they would have the motive for the death of both Kamski and Marsh.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's an end note, it's an end note, it's an end note, it's an end note.  
> IT'S AN END NOTE!
> 
> I sang that in my head as I wrote that...
> 
>  
> 
> Any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D


	8. The Light At The End Of The Proverbial Tunnel

     Time:

     PM  **1:57** :49

 

Hank watched Connor for 5 minutes. Watched as he took hold of the other androids hand. As Connor’s LED changed from blue to yellow and back to blue again after remaining yellow for some time. However hard Hank watched him though, he wasn't prepared for Connor letting go of the Chloes arm and whirling around to face him. 

 

“There’s going to be another murder, Hank. And I think I know who the killer might be,” Connor rushed.

 

“Who? I mean, who is the killer?”

 

“I don’t know that, I only heard a voice, I never saw the person. But it seemed as though what they were doing to them wasn’t legal nor was it wanted.”

 

“That’s real helpful Connor. Can you tell who they’re going to kill at least?”

 

“The evidence suggests that Dr. Tatiana Aveline will be the next victim. She’s a biochemist that used to work with Kamski. Only it seems as though that the creation of androids was not the only thing she worked with him on.”

 

“And the doctor was there in that…” He said, waving his hand in the direction of the Chloes, “weird mental image thing that you looked at in her head?” 

 

“Yes. All of the Chloes minds are linked so that all of them see what the others see. I assume that this is so that Elijah Kamski doesn’t have to program all of them to know his habits, etc.” 

 

“Mmmhuh,” Hank grunted

“If we can get to Aveline’s house first, we may catch the assailant.”

 

“We can go there now, as long as you tell me the location before we get in the car,” he jeered.

 

__________

 

     Time:

     PM  **2:18** :56

 

“Are you sure this is the place?” The apartment block they drove up to had more glass on the outside than any other building in the area. The walls themselves seemed to be made from it. Some of the floors stuck out more than others, giving the appearance that some floors might be larger than others. There was quite a distance between the two buildings either side of it, and it was almost as if the landowners had bought more land than they had planned, and the building’s size had stayed the same. That or the place was made that way so that it looked more expensive. It was probably the latter. “We sure are spending more time at apartments with potential murderers and murderees lately.”

 

                                   WATCH FROM  **ROOF**

 

TALK TO  **DR. TATIANA AVELINE**

       STAY IN  **CAR**

 

“I suggest that we stay in the car to watch the building. We will have a better view of the building and if we see someone suspicious entering or leaving. We will also be better prepared to chase them on foot should the occasion call for it.” 

 

“Okay. But I’m starving, so I’m goin’ to a joint somewhere to grab something to eat. If we’re here on stakeout, I can imagine we’re goin’ be here a while.” Hank parked then left the car, leaving Connor to watch the building. 

 

Hank was gone for twenty minutes, but when he returned, his arms were full of food and drinks. “What?” he said to Connor’s look of disapproval, “I’ve been on stakeouts before, they’re always better with snacks. And no analyzing shit, I’m eating this whether you like it or not.”

 

Then Hank, his snacks on his lap and the chair behind him, settled down for the wait.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, a pretty short one today because I wanted to get into the action... which will come tomorrow, bwa ha ha.
> 
> Any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D


	9. No Harm Will Befall Me If I Stray From This Path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:  
> PLEASE READ:
> 
> this is a one-off for this chapter because otherwise, it would get VERY confusing: this chapter has point-of-view changes that I have marked with lines FYI.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter:

Hank had eaten everything that he had bought within the first hour. He had started messing around on his phone within the second hour. He had almost fallen asleep in the third, only woken up when Connor had sharply slapped him across the face. Hank had complained for the next half an hour, which at least meant that he didn’t fall asleep again. After that they sat there in silence, watching the apartment as the night drew closer and began to paint the sky with a void that no one could define.

 

At 7 o'clock they started watching the building more intently because the curtains of night had begun, and from the evidence of the two other murders, the assailant worked under the cover of darkness. Connor had night vision built into his optical units so could see things that Hank couldn’t. The streets had also begun to clear up as more and more people went home from work or a day out. Fortunately, this meant that it would be easier for the two to see someone who had malicious intentions.

 

Time:

PM **7:34** :27

 

Connor saw a shadow dart into the space between the apartment and the building next to it. He called to Hank and pointed out where he saw it and they both watched in silence as the shadow moved out from the alcove and onto the footpath again. It slowly made it’s way to the entrance, the shadow itself keeping to the other shadows made by the buildings around it, staying away from any direct light source.

 

Hank’s human eyes, unequipped with any enhancement, could only see the shadow when the light from a window caught it at a specific moment, but it was enough for him to keep track of it as it made its way closer to the entrance.

 

Even though both of them saw vastly different things, both of them knew that they had to stop whoever it was from getting into the building. Stopping it before it killed someone else, regardless of motive, was the mission.

 

They got out of the car simultaneously, without any gestures to other, which was a credit to their progress in terms of teamwork, and walked towards the building, keeping an eye out for the shadow.   


SILENT BUT **SLOW**

FAST BUT **LOUD**

 

Connor began running and watched as the shadow began running as well, away from the building and into the street.

 

CHANCE OF  
SUCCESS: **72%**

 

Hank swore as Connor took off suddenly and so he started running as well, drawing his gun out and following Connor the best he could. Then he stopped, turned around and moved towards the entrance of the apartments. If they were here to kill someone, they would return to finish the job and Connor was more than competent when it came to pursuing criminals.  


 

* * *

 

The buildings flew past as Connor ran, the target ahead of him. His reflection copied his movements in the windows on either side of him, not that he was looking at them, his gaze was focused on the figure he was chasing. They were running fast, dodging pedestrians on the street and others who stepped out of buildings suddenly then Connor dodged them as well. Then the target turned into an alley on the right.

 

FAST BUT **RISKY**

**BALANCED**

EASY BUT **SLOW**

  


Connor followed them down the alleyway, hurdling over the dumpster at the end so as to grab the fire escape ladder. He climbed up and vaulted the wall, landing on the low roof of another building. He saw a figure ahead of him, jumping and grabbing into a higher wall and then pulling themselves up.

 

SAFER **DETOUR**

FAST BUT **RISKY**

 

He continued running along another rooftop, parallel to the route that the target was running, the gravel making crunching sounds as his feet hit the ground. The roof he was running was ending, so Connor prepared himself to jump to the next building, the one that the target was now running on. He pushed up from the ground, and when he landed on the other side, he rolled so that his leg components didn’t jar from the pressure.

 

The figure was still ahead of him though, it had been the whole time, and Connor began to think that it wasn’t human. The figure ran up and down the glass prisms on top of the building, still not slowing down, and when it made its way to the edge of the roof, it jumped off. Connor knew that it hadn’t died because of the soft sounds it made when it hit the ground and continued running.

 

FAST BUT **RISKY**

EASY BUT **SLOW**

 

Connor followed in its footsteps, and ran up and down each of the glass prisms then jumped off of the roof but this time he didn’t roll because the thing he landed on was too short to risk it. The figure dropped down onto the street below and ran through the people who were on the street, pushing some of them aside when they didn’t move out of the way.

 

DIRECT BUT **CROWDED**

FAST BUT **RISKY**

 

He continued running along the rooftops, glancing at the streets to see where the target was in position to him. The wall of a building was fast approaching so Connor turned to the street and jumped down onto it, startling the couple in front of him, and continued running after the target.

 

The two continued running on the streets, but when a group of drunk teens spilled out of a bar in front of him, Connor lost sight of them. He pushed past the teens and continued running along the main street, looking into the alleys as he ran past, making sure he didn’t miss anything.

 

As Connor continued running, he began to see familiar buildings. Hank’s car was on the street ahead of him, the apartment that they had been in front of was also there. Connor ran up to the alley where he first saw the shadow, slowed down to a walk, and heard a gun go off.

 

* * *

 

When he had lost sight of Connor, Hank had walked into the alleyway that Connor had first seen their could-be-assailant. He had waited there, gun in hand, for the shadow to return. The light wasn’t good in the alley, so he watched the entrance more intently, making sure he didn’t miss anything.

 

A few minutes after Connor had begun chasing the assailant, Hank saw them again. “Don’t move!” he yelled, moving the gun up to face the person who had just entered the alley. “Hands behind your head!” The figure froze and raised their arms slowly until they touched the back of their head.

 

Hank walked up to them, his gun still aimed at the figure that he could now see was completely dressed in black with a bandanna wrapped around the bottom half of their face and a hoodie that had fallen off their head whilst they had been running. When Hank got even closer, and he saw the eyes that had been illuminated by the headlights of a car nearby, were not nearly as scared at the prospect of being shot as a normal person would be. They seemed resigned, prepared even, which made Hank take a half step backward which ultimately put him in a worse position for the attack that came.

 

The person stepped to the side quickly evading the bullet that Hank sent their way then moved towards him. They punched him in the stomach, making Hank curl inwards and let go of the gun with one hand to grasp his pained abdomen. They then hit the inside of the arm that was still holding the gun, shocking him into letting go of the weapon. They caught it as it fell, wrapped their arm around his throat and held the gun to his forehead then he watched from his position kneeling on the concrete path, as Connor walked into the alley.

 

* * *

 

Connor, when he saw his partner on the ground with the gun to his head, jolted forward in hope of getting the gun before it could harm him.

 

“Stop,” they said, moving the gun closer to Hank’s head. Connor stopped. “Look. I know it’s going to sound cliche, but I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I will if I have to.” Connor’s eyes flicked from the person behind Hank, to Hank himself, then back to the other person.

 

[REASON]   
[ATTACK]

 

The decision was made for him when Hank jerked his elbow into the stomach of his captor, making them take a step backward from the force. Connor surged forward, and while attempting to grapple the gun from their hands, made it go off again, sending a bullet into the concrete at their feet.

 

Connor kicked them in the stomach, the same place that Hank elbowed, then tried grabbing the gun again. They grabbed his arm as it came towards them, and spun him around so that Connor was facing Hank and pushed his arm so that it was unnaturally bent behind him that’s when Connor’s LED changed from amber to a flashing, pulsating, ugly, red. He kicked at the legs behind him as they pulled his arm up further, then kicked at the legs again and again, until his arm was released.

 

Connor whirled around and tackled them to the ground, pushing their arms to the ground, and holding their torso down with his weight. He slammed their arm with the gun still in hand against the ground until they let go of it with a hiss of pain. He held them down until he heard Hank pick up his gun. They bucked underneath Connor, rolling to try and get him off of them. With a groan, they stopped moving, and hit their head on the ground, eyes still watching Connor’s every move.

 

As Connor tensed to stand up, they moved beneath him, jerking their head forward to hit Connor’s, making him let up on the hold on their arms for a second. But a second was all they needed. They grabbed Connor’s arms and flipped their positions so that now Connor was the one that was being held on the floor. But with a bang, the pressure was gone and Connor was able to hurl himself upwards, grab his opponent and slam them into the brick wall beside the apartment that was where their target was.

 

Hank had seen Connor slowly gaining the upper hand, but when he lost it, he shot into the back of their attacker, trying not to hit anything too vital, but not really caring either way.

 

“Who are you?” Connor demanded.

 

They snorted out a laugh then grimaced. “Who’s asking?”

 

“You will tell me who you are or I will force the answer from you. Now answer my question!”

 

“It doesn’t matter, you’re too late anyway. I just came here to see if she’d bitten the bullet yet.” They closed their eyes and leaned backward before snapping them open and stabbing Connor in the chest with a pocket knife.

 

**BICOMPONENT #9782f CRITICALLY DAMAGED**

 

They pushed Connor back into Hank who was unprepared for the weight of the android and then they looked at the two of them, sprawled on the floor and then ran out of the alleyway, and out of sight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh. Whatever will happen next!?!


	10. The New Species Is Older Than We Are

     Time:

     PM  **8:02** :54

 

Hank watched from beneath Connor as their perpetrator ran away, and scowled. When he felt Connor shift above him, he suddenly remembered what had happened in the seconds before they had run away. Hank gently pushed Connor off of him and onto the ground beside him, then sat up where he was. He pulled Connor’s Thurium stained shirt up so that he could see the damage. The skin around the wound had deactivated, leaving part of Connor’s to be the usual white exoskeleton of androids. Compared to other injuries that Connor had sustained while they had been partners, particularly during the revolution, the stab wound was minor. But because Hank wasn’t an Android and he wasn’t equipped with X-Ray vision, he didn’t know whether the blade had hit anything important.

 

“Connor,” Hank called, “I need your help here.” Connor’s eyes, which had previously been closed, reviewing the past half hour trying to understand what had happened to make the events occur the way they did, opened and looked at Hank. “I need you to self-scan then tell me what I need to do.”

 

**[ANALYZING INTERNAL SYSTEMS]**

 

100%

PROCESSING DATA

 

**[DAMAGE DETECTED]**

**[BICOMPONENT #9782f CRITICALLY DAMAGED]**

**[THURIUM LEVELS : 86%]**

**[THURIUM LEAK DETECTED : STEM FLOW IMMEDIATELY]**

  
  


**[ANALYZING EXTERNAL SYSTEMS]**

 

100%

PROCESSING DATA

 

**[DAMAGE DETECTED]**

**[EXOSKELETON DAMAGED : REPAIR IMMEDIATELY]**

 

“It is only minor damage Hank. I will need to replenish my Thurium levels, but I am capable of repairing the damage.”

 

“If you’re fucking fine, then why the hell did you fall over?” Hank yelled angrily. 

 

“I have never been injured while being deviant, Hank. I… feel things now. It was disconcerting to feel pain at this level for the first time.” As he was talking, Hank could see the edges of Connor’s wounds glowing orange, like molten metal, and that’s when Hank realized that when Connor said he would repair himself, he could literally repair himself. When all that remained was the white exoskeleton, albeit covered in thurium, Connor’s skin reactivated, leaving no trace of the wound.

 

Connor stood up and then walked over to the wall where he had held their target and saw the blood that had been transferred onto it. He touched the red stain and then brought his fingers to his lips.

 

100%

PROCESSING DATA

 

**FRESH BLOOD**

     DNA Analysis: ABENDROTH, Lillian

 

“My analysis says that the person who attacked us is Lillian Abendroth.”

 

100%

CONNECTING

 

**ABENDROTH, LILLIAN**

     Born: 03/14/18 - Died: 08/23/31

 

“But all records of her show that she has been dead for eight years.”

 

“What? You saying that whoever you were chasing and who stabbed you is… what… a ghost?” Hank spluttered, now standing behind Connor so that they were face to face when Connor turned around with the results of his analysis.

 

“There is no such thing as ghosts. The only way someone could have Lillian’s blood in their system is if she donated bone marrow however that processes became unnecessary when ASCO created the technology that had the ability to clone an individual's blood. Blood transfusions and bone marrow donations haven't been needed in over ten years.”

 

“So it is a ghost! Never had to deal with the crimes of a ghost before. Maybe we should call the Winchesters, I’m sure they’d be better equipped for something like this.”

 

“Hank, I think we should talk to Cyberlife.”

 

“Way to drop the bomb, Connor.”

 

“She couldn’t have been human the way she fought and ran and yet my analysis tells me that she was completely human.”

 

“So what is she?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

__________

 

     Time:

     PM  **8:26** :23

 

The Cyberlife tower looked dead. It gave the name of the company an ominous feel when the place looked dead. A few lights were on still, at the very bottom of the tower and the very top, the ones at the top giving the appearance of stars suspended in a void . All of the security was still in place, but the amount of people who guarded these checkpoints were significantly less. 

 

When they had gotten out of the car and walked to the entrance, there was only one man in the foyer but he wasn’t holding any weapons. He was the one who greeted the pair when they were inside, although he was rather brash probably because Connor was one of the people who helped put them out of the Android business.

 

“We need to speak to whoever runs this place still. Oh, and can we get some Thurium, Connor had a bit of an… accident.” The man looked at them, spoke into an earpiece, and when he got the go ahead, lead them to the elevator that was further inside. The man stayed with them in the elevator, presumably so that he could show them where to go. He told the elevator to go to floor 43, which Connor knew was the top most floor of the building.

 

The ride up was fast and uneventful, vastly contrasting the last trip he had made in this very same space. The doors opened automatically when the reached the 43rd floor and another white space with lots of geometric shapes greeted them.

 

At the end of the room was a large desk with a large holo screen behind it that had hundreds of images and videos projected onto it. Some were news reports, others images taken during the revolution, and others still that looked like a video call had been frozen.

 

White, oily hair hangs over the face of the figure at the desk. He has darting black eyes that never seem to rest on a single object or person for longer than a few seconds. A plaque sits on the desk in front of him, like men do when they want to feel more important than they actually are. It reads: _Damian Vasquez_ _\- CEO_.

Damian Vasquez stood up as they approached and gestured two to seats in front of the desk after he shook their hands. Just then, the elevator dinged, alerting everyone that there was another person arriving. The man who had come into the elevator with them, who had not gotten out of the elevator when they arrived on the 43rd floor, had come back, this time with a bag of Thurium in his hands. This he passed to Connor when he walked in, and as soon as Connor had it in his hands, the man walked back into the elevator. 

 

“Drink. We’ll talk when you’re done,” Vasquez said. So Connor drank, finishing the bag which he lay in his lap, and turned his attention towards the man in front of him. “What can I do for you?”

 

“We have been investigating the deaths of both Elijah Kamski and Fred Marsh. We almost caught the perpetrator, Lillian Abendroth, but my analysis said that she died eight years ago. She was human, but her actions were not. I chased her and fought her, and she escaped. Is there an android that had red blood? Or a human that had android capabilities?” Connor implored.

 

Vasquez scratched his head before he started talking “There was an illegal experiment conducted by a few scientists in 2031. The subject of this experiment was Miss Abendroth. I wasn’t told much at the time about why she was chosen to be the one would be experimented on, but when I became CEO, I had access to more files and I stumbled onto one of Mr. Kamski’s data records,” he paused and grabbed a holo screen from his desk. He typed a few things into it then cleared his throat.

 

“ **23rd August** . Lillian Abendroth, daughter of Dr. Mason Abendroth was critically injured by Julia Abendroth. I know that the hospital will not be able to heal her, so I have decided to try the experimental technology I have recently created. When she arrives at the hospital, my technology will be used.

 

**24th August** . Dr. Mason Abendroth has been taken into custody under the accusation that he attempted to kill his daughter. 

 

**25th August** . Dr. Abendroth was released after further investigation. Julia has killed herself, probably because of the guilt she felt after stabbing her daughter but Dr. Abendroth has been arrested for the murder of his wife.

 

**26th August** . I was given full custody of Miss Abendroth because she had no other legal guardian. I have decided to further investigate the usage of android technology on the human body so I have enlisted the help of two other people: Fred Marsh and Dr. Tatiana Aveline. They will be advised to be discreet.”

 

“Kamski had a diary? I did not take him for the kind of man to keep a diary,” Hank said in disbelief.

 

“Do you have a picture, or video of her while she was with Kamski? All the photos of her in the database are of her when she is thirteen.”

 

“Yeah, maybe,” he flicks around on the screen for a few seconds, “Aha! Here you go.” He slid the screen across the table so that they could see her face. While they knew that they would see a young women, neither of them thought that they would recognize her. But the face was unmistakable.

 

 

It was the face of Tessa Marsh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's official: Androids are vampires. What other species can you think of that DRINKS BLOOD SO THAT THEY HEAL!!!
> 
> Anyway...  
> Any questions, comments, concerns or criticism is welcome - as long as it is constructive... :D


	11. One and the Same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all,  
> Most people in this position, from what I've seen on this website as well as other fan-fiction websites, list a whole bunch of excuses for why their next chapter was published so late. I have no excuses. Sorry for the lack of chapters, but I have a life (sorry to be blunt). But... I recently got a message from someone asking for another chapter (shoutout to Androidbirds), and I thought to myself, "If people are still reading, I better keep writing!" 
> 
> So, to sum up: I'm terribly sorry, I have no excuses, happy reading. :D
> 
> \- 💙 Blue

 

The owner of the face in the photo was younger than the women they had met previously, the face a little thinner, the eyes a little softer, but it was unquestionable. Tessa Marsh and Lillian Abendroth were the same person. Connor’s LED turned amber. 

 

“No, no. No way! Are you serious? We’ve seen her before. This isn’t Lillian. Her name is Tessa. Tessa Marsh. Her father’s body showed up behind a dumpster not a day ago,” Hank said, jabbing at the screen. He ran a hand through his hair, fingers getting caught in the matted strands, then turned a questioning gaze upon Connor who still hadn’t said anything. When Hank caught sight of the no-longer-blue light on Connor’s temple, the look became less harsh, “Conner?”

 

“My facial recognition software identifies her as Tessa Marsh. Why doesn’t it identify her as Lillian Abendroth? My software is able to correctly identify anyone, living or dead.” His eyes hadn’t left the screen, the software running continuously, distinguishing the similarities between Tessa Marsh’s face and Lillian Abendroth’s. It compared eye colour, hair colour, bone structure.

 

[ **99.98%** MATCH]

 

Damian Vasquez, quiet as he had been through their brief conversation, decided that he would now contribute, “Look, I don’t know who this  _ Tessa Marsh _ is, but that photo is Lillian Abendroth as of two years ago. Kamski may have deleted all evidence of her existence. He was good with stuff like that.” He sighed, brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. When he opened them he looked at Hank. “But if you wouldn’t mind, can you take this conversation elsewhere. I am a very busy man trying to revive this company. So please...” he waved his hand towards the elevator.

 

Hank stood up, Vasquez mirroring him. Once Conner had picked up the empty Thurium bag from his lap, he also got to his feet. Vasquez’s eyes flickered to the bag in his hands, “You can give that to Michael on the way out. He’s the one that gave it to you in the first place and he knows where it goes.”

 

Connor inclined his head in acknowledgement. “Thank you for your time, Mr Vasquez. And for the Thurium.” Hank nodded in agreement, turned on his heel towards the elevator and pressed the call button, Connor walking swiftly to take his place next to his partner.

 

As if only barely remembering proper protocol, Hank then turned around, grumbling. “If you find anything else, please contact the DPD and we’ll be down here as quickly as possible.” The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and the pair walked inside. They turned around just as the doors were closing and saw the new CEO of Cyberlife staring at the face that was still on the screen.

 

Only when the door has closed completely, and the elevator began quickly making its way down the building, did either of them say anything. Hank looked at Connor, who somehow in the time between getting in the elevator and the start of the descent had procured his coin from his pocket and was twirling it between his fingers, the Thurium bag was loosely clutched in the other hand. “So, Tess– Lillian… Whatever. She killed Kamski and Fred Marsh?”

 

“She has a motive. From the videos I saw through the RT600s, what they did to her took hours of surgery each day, and it didn’t look like they kept her medicated.” 

 

“So where do we find her? She’s not going to be at the apartment, she knows that she revealed herself when she fled earlier. She must have somewhere else to run to then, but she probably doesn’t have many friends because everyone either thinks she’s dead or the daughter of a negligent son u’va bitch,” The elevator stopped, dinged, and the doors opened. “Do your mojo, Connor, I’ve got nothing.”

 

They walked out of the elevator, Hank silently hoping that this would be the last time he ever stepped foot into this building because it was in no way, shape or form, welcoming. Even the greenery on the sublevel below them looked too green to be natural. As they passed the guard at the front door, Connor handed the empty bag to him, thanked him, and walked out the glass doors. 

 

“Where to then?” Hank asks as they get into the car.

 

“Back to the station? Maybe they have her files in the database, somewhere I can’t access because of Kamski’s coding.”

 

“To the station, it is then.”

 

__________

 

Time:

PM  **9:12** :05

 

It turns out that Lillian Abendroth was one of the few people on the planet that had a hard copy version of her file. Her entire family had them as well. According to the paper files manager, the people who have hard copies are those who specifically request them. They have digital files as well, but the paper copy is a backup. A failsafe. Even the dead have files. 

 

Hank hadn’t handled paper files since the early days of his position as a police detective, almost all files had digital copies or had become completely digital by the early 20s. Connor picked up the file reverently when they’d found it. It was probably the first time he had ever seen a paper police file before.

 

When he opened it, Connor scanned the page, analyzing the first pieces of information he had been digitally denied access to. As an investigative android, he had been allowed access to all available information so as to close the case. To be denied access to a person’s entire file. To not even know off its existence… it had never happened before. 

 

“It says her address was Capitol Park Lofts, 1145 Griswold St, Unit 405. There is a park across the road from the apartment. There is a high likelihood that her in that area.” Connor handed the open file to Hank. Hank glanced at the page but knowing that he didn’t have access to the internet that Connor did, closed the file and stood from the single desk in the file room. 

 

“I really fucking hope we find her there, this day has gone on for too goddamn long already.”


End file.
